Gérard Jacobs (1865–1958) - Schelde onder wolkenlucht

Atmospheric seascape by the Belgian painter Gérérard Jacobs (1865–1958), born in Antwerp in 1865 and later active in Vlissingen.

Jacobs received his training at the Royal Academy of Antwerp and became best known for landscapes, harbor scenes, Scheldt landscapes, and marine paintings. His work is characterized by a great sensitivity to light and atmosphere, often with dramatic cloudscape, fog, and soft color nuances.

In this painting a monumental, vividly painted sky dominates above a broad body of water. A few ships and sails appear on the horizon and enhance the great spatiality of the scene. The impasto touch and subtle beige-, gray-, and blue-toned hues give the work a special light and an almost still character.

Jacobs moved to Zeeland during the First World War and in 1920 co-founded the Vlissingse art circle Het Zuiden. He is regarded as an important representative of the so-called Scheldt luminism. His work is, among others, in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp; the Flemish Art Collection records there his painting Beneden-Schelde.